Next Thursday, the national football team will resume its preparations for the upcoming external competitions, foremost among which is the completion of the joint Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 Asian Cup, within the eighth group competitions, which includes the teams (Yemen, the Emirates, Bahrain, and Nepal).

The national team will launch its internal preparatory camp in Sanaa on Thursday, February 15, under the leadership of Algerian coach Noureddine Ould Ali, the team’s technical director, and his national assistant, Mohamed Al-Zariqi, in preparation for facing the Emirates first leg in the third round on March 21 next at Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, and back. In the fourth round on March 26 in the city of Abha, Saudi Arabia.

The national team had begun the qualifiers by facing Bahrain in mid-November in Abha and lost by two clean goals. In the second round, it defeated its host, Nepalese, by two clean goals in the match that took place in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.

The technical staff of the first national team announced the initial list of the team, which included (33) players who were summoned to enter the internal camp in Sanaa, as follows:

1- Abdullah Al-Saadi - Shaab Ibb

2- Muhammad Aman - The People of Hadhramaut

3- Saud Al-Sawadi - Ahly Sanaa

4- Akram Salem Jobah - Peace of the Room

5- Abdel Halim Shabes - Sana’a Unit

6- Muhammad Saeed Al-Ghaili - The People of Hadhramaut

7- Muhammad Naji Al-Qashmi - Shaab Ibb

8- Al-Khader Salem Al-Douh - People of Hadhramaut

9- Qasim Hussein Al-Sharafi - Sana’a Unit

10- Muhammad Hassan Al-Tiri - Sana’a Unit

11- Zidane Nabil Makram - Hadhramaut Solidarity

12- Hamza Ahmed Mahrous - Ahly Taiz

13- Hamza Muhammad Hanash - Ahly Sanaa

14- Radwan Ali Al-Hubaishi - Sana’a Unit

15- Abdul Majeed Muhammad Sabara - Sana’a Unit

16- Mamdouh Saleh bin Ajaj - Hadhramaut Solidarity

17- Hassan Salem Basfar - Hadhramaut People

18- Abdulaziz Masoum - Hadhramaut Solidarity

19- Ahmed Abdel Ghani - Fahman

20- Hassan Arasa - People of Hadhramaut

21- Nawaz Abdul Hadi - Fahman

22- Haider Aslam - Ahly Sanaa

23- Nasser Muhammad Nasser - Al-Orouba

24- Ahmed Nabil Dabaan - Ahly Sanaa

25- Jamil Al-Dabai - May 22

26- Saqr Khaled Al-Darbi - Ahly Sanaa

27- Ahmed Muhammad Bahaj - Hadhramaut Solidarity

28- Alaa Al-Sahbani - Ittihad Ibb

29- Imad Hammoud Al-Jadeima - May 22

30- Abdul Rahman Al-Shami - Sana’a Unit

31- Ali Fadl Abs - Hadhramaut Solidarity

32- Salah Saeed Salem - Sanaa Unit

33- Abdulqawi Salem Al-Hadrami - Hadhramaut Solidarity

Dr. Hamid Shaibani, Secretary-General of the Football Association, explained that the initial list was chosen by the assistant coach of the national team in light of the follow-up of the general league matches of first-class clubs, which produced the best selected elements.

Noting that the list is preliminary and can be included or excluded, and professional players abroad will be called up at a later time.

He indicated in a statement to the media center of the Yemeni Football Federation that the internal camp in Sanaa will continue until the end of this February, followed by transferring the team’s preparations to Saudi Arabia to participate in an external camp. There are efforts to secure one or more trial matches for the team before heading to the Emirates to face the Emirati team on March 21 in The third round of the joint Asian qualifiers.

Stressing that the Yemeni Football Association is harnessing all capabilities to prepare the team well and is keen to provide all the elements for the success of the preparation stage in cooperation with various relevant parties, wishing the technical staff good luck and achieving the desired results in the upcoming matches.